Antsiranana Province Mountain Holidays

I loved my visit to Villa les Orchidées. The hotel was amazing and the staff were more than helpful. My three complaints are very, very minor and would not effect a decision to stay there again, however people should know what they are getting: 1) There is no hot-tub, only a pool. 2) There is no real coffee, only instant garbage. 3) The hotel soundtrack is nauseating. I have a feeling the owner, whom you will more than likely meet, likes it, but its just awful.

Great location, great food, beautiful hotel but they can improve on entertainment (which was mostly in Italian and paying for water when you have paid for all inclusive did not make sense. The entertainment team was great (even though they mostly spoke Italian. 10/10 for Jamica- great singer we enjoyed our daily sunset sessions and Samuel was a great entertainer- very good with clients. Christina at reception was also great- did all they could to accommodate our requests. Suggestion is to get English speaking people at reception as well as we struggled to communicate with everyone when Christina wasn’t around. Overall it was a good holiday.

The resort was beautiful. The beach, the pool were fantastic and the rooms were good. They offered some good excursions and the kids club team were great with our daughter. On the negative side, Andilana Beach Resort targets a very specific demographic, Italians. This should have been highlighted as everything was in Italian, including all the entertainment, which limited our enjoyment. The language barrier was also a bit of a challenge, as we spoke very little Italian and most of the staff spoke limited English. The food was also specific to the demographic with more pasta and pizza on offer than we could handle. There were a few other options, but the quality was average. The resort could benefit from incorporating more local cuisine more regularly. We did get local options on the excursions, which was really good. Overall, the resort was great, the staff were great, but we struggled with the fact that everything was in Italian, which we did not expect from a French speaking territory.

Le Grand Bleu offers beautiful ocean views, a welcoming pool, and friendly staff. It's best suited for couples seeking a quiet, secluded retreat wanting few off-site activities. Consider before booking: The resort is **not ideal for guests with mobility limitations** due to steep walkways, uneven paths, and stairs. Wi-Fi is only available in the restaurant/pool area. The biggest drawback is the **cash-only policy** & there's no ATM on-site, **Ariary is the only currency accepted**. Plan on at least **€100 per person per day** (converted to Ariary) for meals, drinks, transportation, and incidentals. Each morning you're billed for the previous day's meals. A typical day (tea & toast, dinner for 1, 2 shots of liquor, w/2 colas to mix) was about 140,000 Ariary. This means constantly monitoring cash and making repeated ATM trips instead of relaxing. It felt more like keeping up with rent than enjoying a vacation. The **nearest ATM requires a minimum 100,000 Ariary round-trip tuk-tuk**. Meal service is limited & prices are very high compared to the excellent family café at the bottom of the hill (son speaks French, Italian. & English - bonus!) The "private wild beach" is difficult to reach and not suitable for swimming or sunbathing. Andilana Beach, 2.6 km away, offers a much better swimming beach with restaurants and shops. For those seeking more nightlife, excursions, credit card options, shopping, and dining, the **Ambatoloaka–Madirokely** resort area near Hell-Ville.

Staff were super friendly and gave us welcome drinks when we arrived. Food was really nice and they had a large selection of cocktails and mocktails. Only issue was sometimes they would make the cocktails ridiculously strong and the pillows were too hard/large for my liking